July 9th, 1915

- Even though the Kaiser had given permission on May 5th for Zeppelin raids on London east of the Tower, this has been insufficient for those within the German navy who desire a more thorough and intensive bombing campaign against Britain, one which specifically targets the City of London, the financial heart of the British Empire and home to the Stock Exchange, the Bank of England, and the headquarters of numerous mercantile firms.  Desiring to have the restriction lifted, Vice-Admiral Gustav Bachmann uses the recent French bombing of Karlsruhe in approaching Bethmann-Holweg today to argue for free reign for the navy's Zeppelins.  The Chancellor agrees to permit bombing raids on the City, provided that they be undertaken only on weekends (to prevent significant civilian casualties) and that historic buildings such as St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower be spared.  While such limits may sound good in theory, they are hopelessly impractical for Zeppelin crews struggling to identify targets in darkness and while under fire.  Bachmann is thus not satisfied with Bethmann-Hollweg's concession.

- The Russian 3rd Army attacks all along the front in southern Poland today, and the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army is able to hold its positions only by the slenderest of margins after bitter hand-to-hand fighting and several counterattacks to recover lost ground.  Reports from the Austro-Hungarian corps commanders, however, emphasize the exhaustion of the infantry, especially in light of the oppressive heat and lack of water.  Fearing that the Russians may be able to break through by tomorrow afternoon, 4th Army commander requests additional reinforcements; in response Conrad reassigns 4th Division, formerly of 1st Army and en route to the Bug River, to 4th Army.

- In March 1915 the Austro-Hungarian navy, realizing that the war would be lengthy, decided to order the construction of four submarines based on the design of the Havmanden-class, three of which had been built for Denmark before the war by the Whiteyard in Fiume.  This being Austria-Hungary, of course, internal politics naturally had their role to play: the Hungarian government demanded a significant share of production be allocated to Hungarian firms.  To achieve this, the contract signed today provides for the submarines to be partially built in Linz and Pola, after which the parts will be transferred to Pola or Fiume for completion.  Such unnecessary duplication of effort has been endemic to the Dual Monarchy both before and during the war, and is one of the key impediments to an adequate mobilization of the economy to support the war effort.

- Prime Minister Botha of South Africa accepts the surrender of the German colony of South West Africa today, the latter becoming the second of Germany's four colonies (the first being Togoland) to submit to the Entente since the outbreak of the war.  In the course of this campaign the South Africans suffered a mere 113 dead through enemy action and 153 through disease or accident; a further 263 had been wounded; indeed, the South Africans had suffered greater losses suppressing the Boer Rebellion than in the fight for German South West Africa.  Central both to the low casualty total and indeed the campaign itself has been mobility; repeatedly as the main South African column advanced inland from the coast, it used mobility to outflank German positions and force the latter to fall back.  More than half of the soldiers under Botha's command were mounted, a ratio not only in complete contrast to the fighting in Europe but largely unseen since the sixteenth century.  Coupled with the timeless use of horses and mules, however, was a modern innovation: the internal combustion engine, as the rapid advances were only sustainable because trucks carried water over deserts.

German casualties were also light; only 103 were killed and 195 wounded, while 890 were made prisoner.  The preponderance of POWs among the German total reflected the unwillingness of the defenders to fight to the bitter end.  Further, the remaining German force in the field upon surrender numbered 4730 men, and included thirty-seven field guns, eight thousand rifles, and two million rounds of ammunition.  The Germans had the manpower and material to continue resistance through a guerilla campaign, but lacked the willingness.  Of crucial import was that the white officers and soldiers were also colonists.  Not only would a guerilla campaign destroy the economy and infrastructure of the colony they had created, but the social dislocation that would have ensued would have undermined the racial hierarchy that was the very basis of the colonial project.  For many Germans in the colony, the maintenance of white rule was a greater priority than the maintenance of German rule.

Further, this concern was shared by the South Africans:  the terms of the armistice allowed Germans reservists to return to their homes, German schools to function, and the German civilian administration to remain in place.  What Botha and the South Africans aspired to was to rule German South West Africa as a colony, and in this endeavour white rule would be as crucial as it was in South Africa itself.  Thus, once military resistance had ceased, it was in the interests of South Africa to cooperate with the white German colonial population to maintain minority rule over the majority indigenous population.  Though the campaign in German South West Africa had been triggered by the outbreak of war in Europe, how the campaign was fought and the settlement which followed were of a piece with the nature of European imperialism and colonial rule in Africa.

July 3rd, 1915

- This afternoon the centre of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army launches a major attack in southern Poland, with IX and XIV Corps (the latter brought up from reserve) seizing a 14km stretch of the Russian trecnch line.  To the west 24th Division of X Corps seizes and holds Kraśnik.  Greater Russian resistance is encountered by the left and right wings of 4th Army, limiting gains to the centre.  To the east reports reach Mackensen of Russian reserves assembling along the eastern flank of the German 11th Army.  Given ongoing concern over the exposure of this flank, Mackensen issues orders to 11th Army as well as 4th Army to halt further attacks until the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army arrives northeast of Lemberg to hold the flank.

- In German South-West Africa the colonial governor Theodor Seitz and the military commander Colonel Victor Franke meet today to discuss the defence of the colony.  The remaining German forces have been pushed into the northeast of the colony and are increasingly under-supplied, the South African advance will shortly push the Germans off of the last remaining rail line under German control.  Moreover, the rapid defeat at Otavi on the 1st shows that morale among the askaris has collapsed.  Seitz insists that resistance should continue to maintain a German claim to the colony, and suggested the defenders scatter into the jungle.  Franke, however, is more realistic.  He understands that further resistance will result in additional casualties without materially effecting the outcome of the campaign, and that the fate of South-West Africa will ultimately hinge on the war in Europe: if Germany wins, the colony may be restored, whereas if Germany loses, holding out longer will make no difference.  Franke is able to impose his views on his civilian counterpart, and a message is sent to Louis Botha today asks for terms.

July 2nd, 1915

- In Britain the Munitions of War Act comes into effect today, providing the legislative machinery for government control of armaments production by the new Ministry of Munitions under David Lloyd George.  Under the legislation any business involved in war production can be designated a 'controlled establishment', in which case a series of government restrictions would be imposed in the name of productivity.  Critically, these restrictions were primarily directed not at employers, but at employees: strikes are prohibited, arbitration made compulsory, and restrictions on the ability to change jobs.  In exchange, workers in 'controlled establishments' are given badges that effectively exempted them from military service.

- Though yesterday Foch expressed a desire to conduct another offensive by the French 10th Army against Vimy Ridge, General d'Urbal reports today that the infantry of 10th Army are exhausted after fifty days of near-constant combat, and are in no condition to undertake major operations.  Joffre is sympathetic to d'Urbal's concerns, and orders 10th Army to focus on establishing strong defensive positions only.

- Falkenhayn meets with Hindenburg and Ludendorff today at Posen in the presence of the kaiser to discuss future operations on the Eastern Front.  When the German chief of staff had originally committed 11th Army to the east in April, he had envisioned its deployment lasting until the liberation of Austro-Hungarian Galicia.  Once this had been accomplished, Falkenhayn reasoned, the threat to Austria-Hungary from Rusia would be removed, and 11th Army could return to the Western Front for operations there.  Though the purpose of the Gorlice-Tarnow offensive have been achieved, Falkenhayn has reconsidered his views.  He had been concerned with Entente superiority on the Western Front, but the 2nd Battle of Artois has demonstrated the ability of the German army in the west to successfully stand on the defensive even when substantially outnumbered.  Further, Falkenhayn has concluded that more damage can yet be inflicted on the Russian army.  Crucially, however, he does not foresee a decisive, war-winning victory as possible, given the space in Russia and the ability of the Russians to retreat from any grand envelopment.  Instead, Falkenhayn's desires to inflict further hammer blows on the Russian army in the vein of Gorlice-Tarnow to wear the Russians out and convince them to agree to a peace amenable to Germany.  This is a logical extension of the views expressed by Falkenhayn since the fall; namely, that Germany must reduce the number of its enemies through negotiation in order to concentrate on the others.

Thus at today's meeting Falkenhayn rejects Ludendorff's proposal for a major offensive to be undertaken in Courland by the Army of the Niemen, which the latter proposes can advance through Kovno and Vilna to join with Mackensen's 11th Army in encircling the entire Russian army in Poland.  Falkenhayn views such an operation as widely optimistic, and that such sweeping envelopments are simply not possible in the conditions of modern warfare, which in particular limit the ability of cavalry to exploit breakthroughs and surround opposing forces.  Instead, Falkenhayn proposes to stick to the Gorlice-Tarnow formula in which the Russian army would be worn out through a series of step-by-step offensives relying on the power of artillery.  Wilhelm II sides with Falkenhayn, and his more moderate plans are approved.  In the north, the army under General Gallwitz, stretching from the Vistula River towards the Masurian Lakes, will undertake the primary attack, advancing towards Warsaw.  Further, the forces under General Worysch in central Poland will pin the Russians opposite to prevent reserves being redeployed from this stretch of the line.  Finally, 11th Army will undertake a major offensive northwards between the Vistula and Bug Rivers, and to allow for it to concentrate on its advance as opposed to flank protection, the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army is to be withdrawn from west of the Vistula in southwestern Poland and inserted into the line northeast of Lemberg between 11th Army to the north and the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army in the south.  To allow time for the redeployments to be completed and munitions stockpiled, the offensives are planned to begin July 13th.

The Eastern Front in early July, 1915.

- Meanwhile in southern Poland the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army wins several local successes, seizing several villages, but fails to secure a decisive breakthrough.

The 2nd Battle of Kraśnik, July 2nd to 10th, 1915.

- For the past two days the Italian 3rd Army has been concentrating its efforts against the Karst plateau southwest of Görz along the Isonzo River, but a series of infantry attacks have failed to secure any significant ground.

- The influence of German consul Wilhelm Wassmuss in southern Persia continues to grow, securing alliances with numerous tribes in the region that, as opposed to the central government, are the real power.  Through Wassmuss the interior of southern Persia is essentially under German control, and British influence has been confined to a few coastal enclaves - Wassmuss has even been able to erect a wireless station to communicate with Germany proper.  The growing German influence has attracted the attention of British officials in India, who fear losing control over the Northwest Frontier.  Today, the Indian viceroy tells British consuls in Persia to seek out tribal allies that can be used to directly confront German influence in the country.

- In German South-West Africa German forces holding the line east of Otavifontein defending Grootfontein fall back on Gaub today, given the appearance of South African forces before them and the retreat of the defenders at Otavi uncovering their western flank.

July 1st, 1915

- Foch responds today to Joffre's inquiry regarding the next major offensive operation to be undertaken by the French army, and the commander of Army Group North calls for another operation in Artois aimed at Vimy Ridge, the seizure of which Foch believes would force the Germans to evacuate the Noyon salient.  In contrast, he argues that no comparable success in Champagne could force a similar German withdrawal.  To support another offensive directed at Vimy Ridge, Foch suggests major attacks by the French 2nd Army south of Arras and by the British to the north.

- In southern Poland the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army closes up to the lines of the Russian 3rd Army along the Wyznica and Por River by this evening.   Efforts of VIII and X Corps to cross the former are thwarted by heavy Russian fire from the northern bank, while three companies of X Corps that had occupied Kraśnik during the day were forced to withdraw by nightfall under pressure from larger Russian forces.  Despite the Russian resistance encountered today, the commander of 4th Army believes the Russians opposite are still retreating, and orders the entire army to attack tomorrow.

- In German South-West Africa two South African mounted brigades, numbering about 3500 men, approach Otavi today.  Opposite them are about a thousand German soldiers, but because of fears of a South African enveloping maneouver they have been deployed in depth, leaving the hills protecting Otavi and Otavifontein only thinly held.  Botha pushes his South Africans forward on the left, and the thin German line is quickly forced back.  By early afternoon the Germans are withdrawing to the northeast towards Gaub, and the speed at which the German defensive position collapsed is reflected in German casualties numbering only thirty-one.  If the Germans had held the line at Otavi for just two days, the South Africans would have been forced to retreat due to a lack of water.  Instead, the ease of the South African success suggests that morale among the German Schutztruppe has collapsed.

June 27th, 1915

- With the end of the 2nd Battle of Artois, Joffre has already begun to turn his attention towards the next major French offensive, in which he aims to take advantage of the German redeployment of forces to the Eastern Front to 'rupture' their defences and force the enemy to fight in the open.  Soliciting the opinions of his key subordinates, Joffre asks Foch today for his comments on a possible offensive undertaken by his Northern Army Group with thirty-five divisions and five hundred artillery pieces.  Similarly, the French commander-in-chief asks Castlenau for an assessment of an attack by thirty divisions and three to four hundred artillery in the sector of his Central Army Group.  Given his reputation as a rising star and the success of his corps on the first day of the most recent offensive in Artois, Joffre also asks Pétain for his views regarding the suggestion made to Foch.

- Overnight the Russian forces opposite the left wing of the German 11th Army withdraw to a new defensive line running through Ruda Rozaniecka and Plazow, but this evening the Austro-Hungarian 11th Division, on 11th Army's western flank, seizes the latter village this evening.

- After the capture of Amara on the Tigris River earlier this month, the Indian corps in lower Mesopotamia has turned its attention to the Euphrates, as 12th Indian Division has been ordered to advance upriver and seize Nasiriyeh.  Hammar Lake, en route to Nasiriyeh, is notoriously shallow, and to traverse it has required the assembly of a curious flotilla of shallow-draught stern-wheelers and tugs, and in a neat bit of imperial symmetry the former had been originally constructed in 1884 for service on the Nile with the Gordon relief expedition.  After numerous groundings the vessels reach the western exit of the lake at Akaika today, only to find it blocked by a barrier of vessels sunk by the Ottomans.  The expedition halts as dynamite is brought up from Basra to blast their way through.

The British advance towards Nasiriyeh, June and July, 1915.

- In German South-West Africa, the main German force falls back along the railway to the northeast to Otavi today, fearing that otherwise the South Africans will outflank them.  Here the Germans intend to make a stand, forcing the enemy to fight their way through and hopefully buying time to erect further defensive positions to the rear.

May 21st, 1915

- Over the past two days the British have attacked German lines near Festubert, but with the latter having received reinforcements, the British are unable to make gains comparable to those of a week earlier.

- Today the Entente powers sign a military convention with Italy, which details how the allied armies will cooperate once the latter enters the war.  The key aim of Italy has been to secure a guarantee of a Serbian offensive to draw off Austro-Hungarian forces from the Italian frontier.  In exchange, the Russian government had wanted Italy to transfer supplies to the Serbian army when they (hopefully) linked up.  This the Italians declined to do, and since the Entente want active Italian participation in the war the 'compromise' is that Russia will send supplies to Italy, which the Italians will then hand over to the Serbs if they two armies make contact.  It is another good deal for the Italians, and another setback for the Russians - not only have they been able to secure third-party assistance for their Serbian allies, but, given the continuing disaster in Galicia, the Russians are hardly in a position to be helping anyone out anyway.

- As the remaining German forces in German South-West Africa fall back towards Kalkfeld along the rail line leading to the north-eastern interior, Theodor Seitz, the German governor, sends a proposal to South African Prime Minister Louis Botha for an armistice.  The terms proposed by Seitz are for a territorial division of the colony based on the status quo, with the fate of the colony to be decided after the war.  Though the South Africans have fulfilled the objectives that Britain had emphasized - the occupation of the coast and the destruction of the main wireless tower at Windhoek - Botha has no intention of calling off the South African campaign in the colony until it has been fully occupied.  Botha's objectives in German South-West Africa are imperial, but as defined by South Africa: they wish to control all of German South-West Africa so they can claim it as a colony of their own after the war.

May 13th, 1915

- Yesterday the British 28th Division, having suffered greatly in the recent fighting, was withdrawn from the eastern face of the Ypres salient, replaced by 1st and 3rd Cavalry Division fighting as dismounted infantry.  They gain a rapid initiation to the fighting at Ypres, coming under a heavy artillery bombardment early this morning that precedes another German attack.  Most of the British line holds, but 7th Cavalry Brigade is forced back hundreds of yards, and a subsequent counterattack by 8th and 10th Cavalry Brigades is unable to fully restore the position.

The front line at Ypres, May 13th, 1915.

Though desultory fighting will continue around the Ypres salient for several weeks, the 2nd Battle of Ypres has effectively drawn to a close.  In the context of major operations on the Western Front, the battle has undoubtedly been a German victory.  Not only were they able to advance several miles towards Ypres, but were also able to force the British to voluntarily yield ground, something virtually unheardof.  Moreover, while German casualties numbered 35 000, Entente casualties were in excess of 60 000, and the Germans accomplish this favourable casualty ratio while attacking, inverting the normal situation whereby attackers suffer more than defenders.  In a larger sense, however, the 2nd Battle of Ypres was a missed opportunity.  Because the operation had never been intended to be a major offensive, the Germans were not prepared when the initial gas attack proved more successful than anyone could have imagined.  The shock effect of gas literally blew a hole in the Entente line larger than any seen to date in the war, and with sufficient reserves the Germans might have been able to drive on Ypres and beyond.  In a familiar refrain, by the time the Germans realized the opportunity that existed, the moment to exploit it had already passed, and subsequent fighting was comparable to the static fighting seen in other major engagements - the vast majority of the ground captured by the Germans was achieved in the first hours after the gas attack.  The lost opportunity, however, is even greater than the specific context of the 2nd Battle of Ypres.  The most potent effect of gas is psychological: when it strikes soldiers who are unprepared, their willingness to stand and fight vanishes and resistance becomes impossible.  By definition this can only happen the first time gas is used; within twenty-four hours crude countermeasures were being developed, and in future soldiers who are gassed will have gas masks at hand.  This ensures that while gas still kills and has an impact on the battlefield, never again can it have the same psychological effect.  The most effective use of gas was always going to be the first time, and the Germans threw away this opportunity by not being prepared to exploit the situation.  The Germans have also earned the opprobrium of being the first combatant to use asphyxiating gas on the battlefield.  Though all countries will soon make extensive use of gas, and work to develop ever more lethal chemicals, 2nd Ypres becomes, in the eyes of many, yet another example of German 'barbarism', in line with the Rape of Belgium and the sinking of Lusitania.  For many in both Entente countries and neutrals such as the United States, it is yet another reason why Germany and 'Prussian militarism' must be crushed; one cannot compromise with barbarism.  Finally, the battle has been the baptism of fire for 1st Canadian Division.  The resiliency (if not sheer stubbornness) of the Canadians in the first days of the German offensive, holding their lines despite gas and overwhelming attacks until British and French reserves could arrive, was vital to preventing a greater German breakthrough, and becomes a celebrated feat of arms.  It is the first of many such accomplishments for the Canadians on the Western Front.

- In Artois French pressure forces the Germans to abandon most of the village of Ablain, but otherwise French attacks are unsuccessful today.  Nevertheless, Crown Prince Rupprecht, commander of the German 6th Army, believes that three of his front-line divisions are completely worn out and must be replaced, and requests further reinforcements from Falkenhayn.  The German Chief of Staff agrees, transferring 2nd Guard Reserve Division and two brigades from OHL control to 6th Army's sector.

- The battered Russian 3rd Army completes its retreat to the San River, taking up positions north of the fortification of Przemysl.  Its northern wing is entrenched on the east bank from Jaroslau almost to the junction with the Vistula River, where 4th Army covers both sides of the Vistula itself.  The southern wing of 3rd Army, between Jaroslau and Przemysl, is actually deployed on the west bank; because the west bank is much higher than the east, holding the river line itself here is not possible.  South and east of Przemysl sit 8th and 11th Armies, the latter connecting with 9th Army still conducting its offensive in the Bukovina.  Reinforcements are also en route; General Alexeyev has begrudgingly allowed XV Corps, formerly part of Northwest Front, to redeploy southwards, and it is to come into the line between 4th and 3rd Armies.

The German and Austro-Hungarian advance towards Jaroslau and Przemysl, May 13th to 16th, 1915.

- In east Galicia the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army continues its retreat to the Pruth River, and by nightfall most of its elements are across.  The west and centre wings were able to pull back relatively unmolested, but the east wing came under heavy attack, especially by the Russian XXXIII Corps, as it did so.  Here at least the Russians are having some success in the Carpathians, and the offensive has forced the Austro-Hungarians to divert III Corps, initially intended to garrison the frontier with Italy, to Bukovina.  Beyond this, however, it has had no impact on the larger strategic picture; Falkenhayn for one knows that if Mackensen and 11th Army continues to achieve success, and in particular force the San River line, the Russian position in the Bukovina will be outflanked and nothing that happens there will matter.

The Battle of Dniester, May 13th, 1915.

- At 5pm the Italian cabinet reconvenes, and since yesterday's meeting Salandra has met with party leaders over the question of peace or war.  He reports to the cabinet that only one - Leonida Bissolati of the moderate Socialists - supported intervention.  The cabinet then spends the next four hours debate the issue back and forth.  One concern is that if the cabinet, and by convention the king, endorses war, but then is repudiated by parliament, a constitutional crisis may ensue.  To clear the air and force the issue, Salandra proposes the government's resignation; his hope is that efforts to cobble together an alternative anti-war government will fail, and thus by default committing Italy to war.  At 9pm the cabinet agrees, and Salandra immediately drives to the royal palace at Villa Savoia to offer their resignations.  At 1030pm news of the resignation becomes public; the moment of decision is at hand.

- Today the German submarine U21 arrives at the Austro-Hungarian naval base of Cattaro, after several weeks at sea.  Due to its lengthy journey from Germany it had only barely made it to port, with only 1.8 tons out of the original 56.5 tons of fuel remaining.  Once refueled and resupplied, the Germans will have their first active ocean-going submarine in the Mediterrean (UB-8 is a much smaller coastal submarine).

- For weeks Entente warships have pounded Ottoman positions on Gallipoli with impunity, as none of the shore batteries could fire shells capable of penetrating the armour of the old pre-dreadnoughts.  Given their numbers, the Entente fleet has also shown no real concern with naval opposition, and largely assume they may sail and anchor as they please.  Overnight, the Ottomans do their best to disabuse the British and French admirals of their misplaced faith in their invulnerability.  With a full moon and heavy mist reducing visibility, the Ottoman destroy Muavenet, captained by a German, snuck through the straits and moved up the European coast of Gallipoli.  In Morto Bay, not a hundred yards offshore, the destroyer comes across the British pre-dreadnought Goliath at anchor, where it is waiting to continue its shore bombardment at dawn.  Surging forward, Muavenet fires three torpedoes and disappears back into the night and through the straits before anyone can react.  The torpedoes strike home, and within minutes rolls over and sinks.  Because the current here is four to five knots and moving away from shore, none of the British sailors in the water can swim ashore.  Five hundred and seventy drown, and only one hundred and eight survive.  It is a striking accomplishment for the Ottomans: the Sultan awards each sailor on Muavenet a gold watch and a purse filled with gold.

The sinking of Goliath shows that the waters off the Dardanelles are now contested, and the aftershocks of the loss of the pre-dreadnought reach London this afternoon, where news of the sinking prompts a passionate outburst from Admiral Fisher.  For months he has worried over the potential loss of warships during the Dardanelles campaign, and in particular is concerned about Queen Elizabeth, Britain's newest and most advanced battleship.  The loss of Goliath stokes these fears to a fever pitch, and Fisher insists that Queen Elizabeth be ordered to return to home waters immediately.  Churchill accedes to the First Sea Lord's demand, but later this evening the argument is joined by Kitchener when he visits the Admiralty on a different matter.  When the Secretary of War learns of Queen Elizabeth's recall, he goes into a rage, accusing the navy of abandoning the army after the army had come to the aid of the navy after the latter's failure to force the Dardanelles.  Fisher, never one to back down from a fight, fires right back at Kitchener, declaring that Queen Elizabeth will sail for home this instant or he would resign on the spot.  Kitchener returns to the War Office and pens an aggressive note to Asquith, but for now Fisher has won the argument: the orders for Queen Elizabeth's recall stand.  The crisis over the Dardanelles, however, is just beginning.

- In German South-West Africa the advance of South African forces from Swakopmund on the coast and from the south has been slow and irregular, disrupted by supply difficulties more than German opposition.  After several months, however, today the northern detachment, under the direct command of Prime Minister Botha, enters Windhoek, the capital of the German colony.  In doing so the South Africans also seize the main wireless station, disrupting communications between the remaining German forces in the colony, now retreating northeast along the lone railway, and the outside world.

February 22nd, 1915

- The French undertake renewed attacks in Champagne today, but fail to make any headway, and the commanders of the German VIII and VIII Reserve Corps opposite believe that the attacks aim merely to cover the failure of the main French offensive.

- Dutch neutrality is seen by the German army as a potential threat, as opposed to one of the last links between Germany and the global economy.  In particular, the army is concerned that the British might invade the Netherlands to outflank the German position in Belgium - a concern undoubtedly based in the knowledge that such a violation of Dutch neutrality is precisely the sort of thing the German General Staff would advocate if the positions were reversed.  4th Army, responsible for the front in Belgium along the Channel coast, has been tasked with developing a contingency plan should such a British invasion occur.  Today, 4th Army HQ informs OHL that if needed two marine brigades, the Guard Cavalry Division, a mixed infantry brigade, and a number of battalions of rear echelon troops will concentrate on the Dutch frontier to oppose a British landing.

- The revised instructions to U-boat captains regarding which targets to fire upon and how they are to determine a vessel's identity have been sufficient to overcome the remaining concerns of the Kaiser, and as such unrestricted submarine warfare begins today against Britain.

- In Augustow Forest, the remnants of the Russian XX Corps surrender, with twelve thousand soldiers marching into German captivity.  Of the rest of the Russian 10th Army, though III Siberian, III, and XXVI Corps have escaped eastwards, they have suffered heavy casualties and rendered combat-ineffective.  Ludendorff claims the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes to be another Tannenburg, but in practice the victory is not on the same scale.  The Russian 10th Army has lost 'only' 56 000 casualties over the past few weeks of fighting, and though battered and weakened at least still exists, in contrast to the fate of 2nd Army at Tannenburg.

A German machine-gun position during the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes.

The German victory over the Russian 10th Army, however, has not secured to the Germans any broader strategic consequences.  Ludendorff had hoped that victory here would threaten to outflank the Russian position in central Poland, and in consequence the Russians would pull back over the Vistula.  However, the German advance has simply formed a large salient from East Prussia to the Niemen River.  To the north the Russians remain in control of the fortress at Kovno, a threat to the German 10th Army's left flank.  To the south, much of the strength of the German 8th Army has been drawn into a siege of the fortress at Osowiec, where the rivers and marshes, combined with a skilled Russian defence, have prevented the Germans from bringing their siege artillery fully to bear on the fortress' walls.  Finally, today the Russian 12th Army finally begins its delayed advance to the west of Osowiec, and though the German 8th Army is able to contain the Russians, the Germans find themselves pinned into defensive positions, incapable of threatening anyone's flanks.

- To the west, the gap between the German 8th Army near the East Prussian frontier and the German 9th Army on the line of the Bzura River is covered by a scratch force under the command of General Max von Gallwitz.  With the forces to the east stalemated, Gallwitz launches an offensive today, advancing southeast towards the town of Prasnysz with elements of I Reserve and XVII Reserve Corps and 3rd Infantry Division.  Their ultimate objective is the Narew River, and by securing a crossing they hope to outflank the Russian line west of Warsaw and force the enemy to abandon the city.

The German advance towards Prasnysz, February 22nd, 1915.

- With the Boer Rebellion effectively crushed, Prime Minister Botha of South Africa turns his attention to the invasion of German South-West Africa.  Today he lands at Walvis Bay, assumes command over the South African force that occupied Swakopmund on January 13th, and orders an advance inland towards Windhoek along the railway (destroyed by the Germans) connecting the two towns.  Botha views the march to Windhoek, the German colonial capital, as strategically decisive, severing German communications between the north and south of the colony.  However, to prevent a German withdrawal from the south to concentrate against his column he has also ordered offensives from Lüdertiz and across the Orange River.

- The mutiny of soldiers from the 5th Light Infantry battalion at Singapore ends today, as British forces, with assistance from Russian, French, and Japanese sailors, round up the last of the mutineers who had fled to the jungle.  Next will come courts-martial to pass judgement on the one hundred and twenty-six mutineers who have been captured.

January 13th, 1915

- An all-day meeting of the War Council is held in London today.  After an exhausting discussion that touched on a wide range of issues, including the ongoing stalemate on the Western Front, just after sunset Churchill presents his plan for a purely naval attack on the Dardanelles.  The mood of the meeting is suddenly transformed - from despair at the futility of operations in France and Belgium to optimism and hope at the prospects in the eastern Mediterranean.  Here Churchill's plan offered the potential for a war-winning operation without the massive casualties that would be necessitated by further efforts to pierce the German lines on the Western Front.  Success at the Dardanelles would allow the British squadron to anchor off Constantinople, and under the threat of bombardment force the surrender of the Ottoman government.  With the Straits in Entente hands, munitions and armaments could flow unimpeded to the Russian, giving them the material necessary to complement their numerical advantage on the Eastern Front.  Such a visible and overwhelming Entente victory would also certainly persuade the Balkan neutrals to enter the war on their side, and would open up a southern front for the invasion and destruction of Austria-Hungary.  Churchill presented the plan with all his oratorical talents, and the Council is caught up in his enthusiasm.  Admiral Fisher is in attendance, but is not asked for, nor does he offer, his opinions - he sees the War Council as a political, not a military, body, and thus the service chiefs are there merely to offer advice if asked, not attempt to persuade.  The Council unanimously agrees that the Admiralty should prepare for an operation to break through the Dardanelles, with Constantinople as its objective.  What will become one of the most controversial campaigns of the First World War has now been set in motion, and the next link in the chain connecting Enver Pasha's decision to invade the Caucasus and the fall of the last Liberal government in Britain is created.

- Along the Aisne French reinforcements are dispatched to the immediate north of Soissons to regain the ground lost yesterday at Crouy.  The French movement, however, is a double failure - not only to they fail to regain the lost trenches around Crouy, buy they are also out of position to respond to the major German attack launched this afternoon just to the west centred on Vregny.  By evening the Germans have pushed through Vregny and reached the northern edge of the wooded slope stretching down to the Aisne River.

- Joffe formally suspends the attacks of 10th Army in Artois and 4th Army in Champagne today, with neither offensive accomplishing more than the most negligible gains.  For his part, General Fernand de Langle de Cary, commander of 4th Army, submits a review of his operation to Joffre which emphasizes the difficulty of breaking through the enemy front through a 'continous' attack.  Instead, he suggests that once initial objectives have been achieved, it is necessary to repeat preparations for subsequent attacks, including digging approach trenches and an intensive preliminary artillery bombardment.  De Langle is arguing in favour of a methodical, step-by-step approach to offensive operations, as opposed to the 'continuous' method which calls for repeated waves of infantry assaults to overwhelm defensive positions.

- In Austria-Hungary today Count Berchtold is replaced as Foreign Minister by Count Stephan Burián, reflecting the triumph of the opponents of territorial concessions to Italy and Romania.  Instead, the Empire will seek to restore its international reputation through battlefield victory.

- In German South-West Africa the South African force that landed at Walvis Bay on December 25th today occupies the town of Swakopmund just to the north, which is also the terminus of the northern rail line running from the coast inland to the colonial capital at Windhoek.  Further south, a thousand Boer rebels, formed into different groups commanded by Maritz and Kemp, cross the frontier into South Africa for a second time after the failure of December.

December 25th, 1914

- Along certain stretches of the Western Front remarkable scenes play out today.  In what will become famous as the 'Christmas Truce', soldiers on both sides cease firing and for a time congregate in No Man's Land.  These episodes are most common in Flanders, where British soldiers (as of yet less prone than the French to hate the Germans, as it was not their country that had been invaded and occupied) and Germans from Saxony and Bavaria (it being generally accepted that Prussians were more war-like).  On both sides, Christmas Eve had seen the arrival of all kinds of care packages and donations from the home front, and some trenches were decorated with whatever greenery or 'ornaments' one could find.  At night the sounds of singing often echoed across the trenches as one side, then another, would sing Christmas carols.  In the daylights hours signs appear over the trenches, often proclaiming in the language of the other side: 'You no shoot, we no shoot.'  Soldiers then climb out of the trenches, first cautiously, then eagerly, and move out into No Man's Land.  Often the first task undertaken was the burying of the dead, who had lain out of reach for weeks and months.  Once completed, the two sides would mingle, frequently trading cigarettes, tinned-meat, and other recent gifts from the home front, while attempting to converse.  In some places they even play an improvised game of soccer across the mud and ruin of No Man's Land.  Diary entries by soldiers today often speak of sympathy with those on the other side, sharing as they did the terrible conditions of life in the trenches.  These 'truces' often continued for much of the day, neither side being in any great rush to return to their lines.  When they do depart, it is often with an informal agreement not to immediately resume firing.

German and English soldiers in No Man's Land on Christmas Day, 1914.

The Christmas Truce is the most prominent example of the 'live and let live' attitude that is emerging along stretches of the front - outside of major battles, there is a desire among the common infantry to avoid unnecessary shelling and rifle fire whose only effect can be to prompt reprisals.  In other words, for some the attitude is 'if you don't make our lives any more miserable, we won't make yours any more miserable.'

- A half hour before dawn this morning, Commodore Tyrwhitt's force reaches its launch position in the Heligoland.  By 630am the seaplanes are in the water, and at 659 the signal is given to take off.  Two seaplanes suffer engine failure before takeoff, so seven in total lift into the air and head southeast towards Cuxhaven.  At sea the visibility is perfect, but as the aircraft pass over the coast they discover the landscape below covered by thick fog.  In good weather the Zeppelin hanger at Nordholz would have been visible a dozen miles away, but today the fog obscures it completely.  The seaplanes split up searching for the hanger, but none are able to find it - one drops its bombs on fish-drying sheds by mistake.  Only two seaplanes come close to inflicting harm on the Germans.  The first, passing over German warships in the Jade estuary, aims its three bombs at the light cruisers Stralsund and Graudenz; the closest falls 200 yards from the latter.  The second passes over German warships anchored in the Schilling roads, and though it suffers damage from anti-aircraft fire, its observer, Lieutenant Erskine Childers, is able to pinpoint the location of seven dreadnoughs and three battlecruisers below.

The German North Sea coast targeted by the British seaplanes.

Having failed to accomplish anything, the seaplanes head back out to sea.  Running low on fuel, only two reach the seaplane carriers.  A third lands beside a British destroyer which takes aboard its crew, and three more come down near British submarines positioned by Keyes near the coast for precisely this reason.  The crew of the seventh, meanwhile, is picked up by a Dutch trawler, and are able to convince the Dutch authorities that they are 'ship-wrecked mariners', not combatants, and are thus able to return to Britain.

The British seaplane carrier Empress, one of three to attack the German coast today.

As the British force recovered the seaplanes and aircrew, they came under sporadic attack by German Zeppelins and seaplanes.  Though there were some near misses, no British warship is damaged.  The German fleet, meanwhile, remains in port the entire time.  Convinced that only the entire Grand Fleet would dare approach this near the German coast, the High Seas Fleet stays in port fearing that it is a British trap to lure them out to destruction.  By the time they realize that Tyrwhitt's small force is by itself, they have already departed for home.  This is another blow to morale in the German navy - the British have been able to sail close enough to launch airplanes with impunity.

- In the Carpathians Russian attacks continue to batter the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army.  The latter are short on ammunition and lack sufficient infantry to cover the entire front.  When Russian units push through Jaslo between two of 3rd Army's corps, its commander accepts the inevitable and at 10pm cancels the proposed offensive of his eastern wing and informs his corps commanders that they are permitted to withdraw to the Carpathian watershed if hard-pressed by the enemy.

- Though Albania has existed for less than two years, it has already become a 'failed state'.  A recent rebellion has driven out the old monarch, the German Wilhelm of Wied, who had been appointed by the agreement of the Great Powers before the war.  A central government, for all intents and purposes, does not exist in Albania, and thus though it is formally neutral, it is entirely unable to defend its sovereignty.  Today Italy takes advantage of Albanian disorder to occupy the port of Valore, Albania's second largest city and close to the narrowest point in the Adriatic Sea before it empties into the Mediterranean.  The occupation of Valore gives Italy greater control over the Adriatic, which Italian nationalists view as an Italian lake.  Such an action would normally have provoked the ire of the other Great Powers, especially Austria-Hungary, but given not only the ongoing war but also the desire to secure Italian support, neither side in the Great War objects.  Thus Italy is not only using the war to secure territorial bribes to end its neutrality, but also as a cloak for unprovoked aggression against other states.

- Today the 'Ottoman' battlecruiser Goeben strikes a Russian mine at the entrance to the Bosporus after returning from a sortie in the Black Sea.  Though the warship is never in danger of sinking, it will be out of commission for some time.

- The elimination of the German East Asiatic Squadron removes the major impediment to British amphibious operations in the south Atlantic, and today a South African force lands at Walvis Bay on the coast of German South-West Africa.

- A small British detachment of four Indian companies occupies the coastal town of Jasin, located at the mouth of the Umba River and sitting on the border between British East Africa and German East Africa.  The occupation is not directly intended as a threat to the Germans - being sixty-four kilometres to the north, it is remote from Tanga, and the move is primarily designed to stabilize the frontier tribes in the Umba Valley inland.

December 18th, 1914

- Though the French have abandoned their attacks in Flanders, the British have not - they hope that the continued German redeployments to the Eastern Front have sufficiently weakened their lines opposite the BEF to allow for successful, if small-scale, attacks.  The reality is that though the German lines are thinner, they are still able to easily repulse hastily-planned and poorly-executed operations.  Today, a British attack against the German line at Ploegsteert Wood is a bloody failure, with some of the advancing infantry being killed by their own misdirected artillery fire.

- After the attacks by XXI and X Corps yesterday, the main attack of the French 10th Army's Artois offensive is launched today by XXXIII Corps.  However, the same conditions that impeded progress yesterday - heavy rain and insufficient artillery fire - also plague today's advance, and XXXIII Corps, attacking along a broad front, secures only negligible gains.  General Pétain decides that instead of continuing to attack all along his corps' front, he will instead concentrate his strength against just the portion of the line at the village of Carency, in an attempt to overwhelm the German defenders.

- The Russian armies in central Poland halt their retreat today, taking up strong and prepared positions on the lower Bzura and Rawka Rivers south to the Nida River.  Attacks by both the German 9th and Austro-Hungarian 2nd Armies fail to break through this new line, indicating that the Russians intend to stand and fight here.  Mackensen decides to continue 9th Army's offensive in an effort to capture Warsaw before the end of the year, and thus begins a series of attacks across the Bzura and Rawka Rivers.

- For his part, the Russian halt in central Poland is yet more evidence to Conrad that the essential battle is in Galicia where the Russian line in Poland can be turned from the south.  The omens south of the Vistula, however, are not promising.  In addition to yesterday's check at Lisko, today 4th Army finds its advance halted by Russian garrisons on the west bank of the Dunajec River, evidence that the Russian 3rd Army intends to stand along the Dunajec.  Gone is the question of whether the Russians will retreat across the San; instead, it is now a matter of whether the Russians can be forced to continue retreating at all.  To accomplish this the left wing of 4th Army is ordered to hold at the Dunajec, while the right wing swings around to the south against Tarnow - if successful, it will sever the main railway and supply route to the Russian 3rd Army and force its further withdrawal.

- Along the border between German South-West Africa and Portuguese Angola, the reaction of the latter to the massacre of the Portuguese garrison at Cuangar on October 31st by a small German force had been to evacuate four nearby border posts for fear of further German attacks.  The German commander in South-West Africa, meanwhile, still does not know if Germany and Portugal are actually at war or not, so he decides to shoot first and ask questions later.  Today a German force of approximately five hundred soldiers, aided by local Africans, attack the Portuguese fort of Naulila, just north of the border.  The Portuguese defenders also number about five hundred, but Naulila was designed to resist native insurrections, not withstand the bombardment of the six artillery pieces the Germans brought with them.  When a German shell detonates the munitions dump, the Portuguese survivors break and flee, having suffered 182 casualties.

The Germans halt their advance after destroying the fort at Naulila - in the long term, the much greater threat comes from the British and South Africans along the coast and the Orange River.  The German success here, along with the Portuguese withdrawal, does effectively create a buffer zone in southern Angola, which allows the Germans to concentrate their forces elsewhere.

December 2nd, 1914

- Falkenhayn, Hindenburg, and Ludendorff meet at Breslau today with Conrad and other military officials from both countries, with the Kaiser also in attendance.  In discussing future operations on the Eastern Front, Falkenhayn informs Conrad that the Germans aim to push the Russians over the Vistula and San Rivers, with the principal role being played by the German 9th Army, for which reinforcements are still arriving.  The German Chief of Staff expects the Austro-Hungarians to pin down Russian forces opposite their lines to prevent them from redeploying northwards to meet the main German thrust.  Falkenhayn also states categorically that no further reinforcements will come from the Western Front.

This news is disappointing to Conrad, who hoped for more significant German redeployments to the East, specifically to aid the Austro-Hungarians.  While not arguing with the overall premise of German strategy, Conrad does inform his German counterparts that his armies are about to undertake their own offensive actions south of the Vistula River.

- Southeast of Krakow, three Austro-Hungarian cavalry divisions under General Julius Nagy begin their advance today.  Situated on the right of XIV Corps, they are to cover the southern flank of 4th Army as it advances to meet the Russian 3rd Army.  One division heads towards Neusandez, a key town through which the Russian 8th Army can most easily send reinforcements to the Russian 3rd Army once the main battle begins.

- In the early hours of this morning, elements of the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army occupy Belgrade, encountering no opposition from the Serbian army.  The news of the capture of the Serbian capital is greeted with widespread celebrations in Vienna, and is applauded by its German ally.

There are storm clouds on the horizon, however.  For the past several days, soldiers of the Serbian 1st Army have been able to rest while being resupplied, and their morale has recovered from the November retreat.  Fresh shipments of artillery shells have also reached 1st Army's artillery batteries.  The commander of 1st Army orders a counterattack for tomorrow, and inspires General Putnik to instruct the entire Serbian army to go over onto the offensive.

- In South Africa, Christian De Wet's commando, one of the leading forces in the Boer Rebellion, has been decimated by desertion over the past few weeks since its defeat at Mushroom Valley, many being enticed by a promise of a government pardon.  Today its disintegration is completed when De Wet himself is captured by government soldiers.  At the same time, another of the rebel leaders, J. C. G. Kemp, and five hundred Boer rebels join forces with S. G. Maritz's force just inside the frontier of German South-West Africa, where the latter retreated after its defeat at Kakamas on October 24th.

October 31st, 1914

- Between Nieuport and Dixmude the waterlogged soldiers of the German III Reserve Corps make their way eastward back across the flooded fields and over the Yser River to dry land.  Due to the battered state of the Belgian army the Germans are able to undertake the retreat without significant losses, but there is no masking the bitter taste of the outcome of the Battle of the Yser.  At the moment when a breakthough appeared to be at hand, the Germans have victory snatched from their grasp, not by the enemy army, but by the sea, the one remorseless enemy they cannot overcome.  By letting in the sea, the Belgians have created an impenetrable barrier from Dixmude to the Channel.  This gives the Belgian army the opportunity to rest and recover, and indeed it can be said that the flooding saves the army from destruction and Belgium from complete occupation.  As a result, a tiny corner of Belgium will remain in Belgian hands for the duration of the war.  Of course, just as the Germans cannot advance across the flooding, the Belgians cannot counterattack either.  Knowing this allows the Germans to move forces south to reinforce the fighting elsewhere in Flanders.

- Just after midnight, General Foch arrives at BEF headquarters at St. Omer, asking to see Field Marshal French.  The heavy attacks of yesterday have plunged the BEF commander again into pessimism, giving Foch the impression of panic and telling him 'We are for it.'  Attempting to buoy French's spirits, Foch replies: 'We shall see.  In the meantime, hammer, hammer away, keep on hammering, and you will get there.'

Army Group Fabeck today resumes its attacks on the British line from Gheluvlet to Messines.  At the latter, the first advance comes before dawn, catching the British in the middle of relieving the companies holding the front line.  After initially overrunning two companies of Indian infantry after their British officers had been killed, nearby cavalry rallied to push the Germans back.  This, however, was only a prelude - a heavy artillery bombardment at 8am preceded an attack by twelve German battalions at 9am that outnumbered the defenders by more than six to one.  The Germans break into the village of Messines, and advance house to house, using artillery at point-blank range to demolish British positions.  Reinforcements from II Corps are fed into the battle, as well as the first Territorial battalion to see combat.  Counterattacks suffer heavy losses, but relieve some of the pressure on the British defenders in Messines at by nightfall they remain entrenched in the southern portion of the village.

To the north, the British 2nd Cavalry Division comes under attack from the German 3rd Bavarian Division and 6th Bavarian Reserve Division.  Though German artillery opened their bombardment at 6am, German infantry did not advance until just before 3pm, giving enough time for reserves to be deployed, and the Germans are repulsed.

The most serious situation of the day develops at Gheluvelt, where the line was held by I Corps' 1st Division.  The first attack by the German XXIV Reserve Corps is mostly repulsed, but small elements manage to reach an orchard from which the defenders are unable to eject them.  Under an increasingly intense artillery bombardment and fire from the orchard, part of the 2nd Battalion, Welch Regiment falls back, opening a gap in the line which the Germans find.  Within minutes the British position has collapsed, the 2nd Battalion, Welch Regiment suffering 530 casualties in being effectively annihilated.  British soldiers flee to the rear individually or in small groups, and attempts to rally them by officers fail.  A company of 1st Battalion, Gloucestershires is sent to plug the gap, but under German shellfire it is reduced from eighty soldiers to thirteen by the time they arrive in the line.

Further German attacks are launched north and south of the Menin Road at 10am, and despite enduring intense fire are able to push the British back.  By 1130am the Germans have taken Gheluvelt and broken the British line.  Further, the British command structure is dealt a severe blow at 115pm when the chateau at which the commanders and staff of 1st and 2nd Divisions are struck by artillery shells, killing or wounding almost everyone present.  As time has to be taken to find new commanders for both units, Haig at I Corps HQ informs Field Marshal French, General Foch, and General Dubois that 1st Division has been broken and issues orders for a last line of defence to be prepared to the rear.  One of I Corps' intelligence officers returned from the front and provided a vivid description of the situation:

You cannot imagine the scene.  The road was full of troops retreating, stragglers, wounded men, artillery and wagons, a terrible sight.  All the time there was the noise of a terrific bombardment.  It was impossible to get any clear idea of the situation.  Nobody knew anything except what was happening on his immediate front and that was always the same story.  The Germans were attacking in overwhelming strength and our men were being driven back . . .

A decisive moment of the battle is at hand - if the Germans can exploit the breakthrough, the entire British line could be outflanked and forced back, allowing the Germans to seize Ypres and secure victory.  At I Corps HQ Haig organizes the orderlies and mess servants to make a last stand.  When Sir John French arrives they discuss the breakthrough in what the BEF commander will later describe as the worst half-hour of his life.  French then motors to Foch's headquarters to plead for reinforcements, stating, according to Foch's recollection, that the only men he had left were the sentries at BEF HQ and that he would take them 'where the line is broken, and the last of the English will be killed fighting.'  Foch replied: 'We must stand firm first, we can die later.'  He promises an attack by IX Corps and lends a cavalry brigade and three battalions to the British.

Meanwhile, west of Gheluvelt all of 1st Division's reserves had been committed to the fighting, and only three companies of 2nd Battalion, Worcesters, consisting of seven officers and 350 men, remained as 2nd Division's reserve.  A brigade commander from 1st Division orders them to counterattack, and by 145pm they are moving on Gheluvelt Chateau, on the northeast side of the village.  They have dropped their packs and grabbed extra ammunition to be able to advance as quickly as possible.  The last mile is open ground, and the battalion loses a hundred men as they race across.  When they reach the Chateau, they find Bavarians from three regiments who, in the aftermath of seizing Gheluvelt, have relaxed in the afterglow of victory.  The Worcesters smash into them and the Germans are driven from the Chateau.  The shock of the counterattack leads other German units to abandon Gheluvelt, and with stragglers from other units the Worcesters are able to establish a thin defensive line.  For the loss of three officers and 189 men, the Worcesters had regained Gheluvelt and shattered German momentum.

Subsequent counterattacks on either flank by disparate and already-mauled British units are able to stem the German tide, though at the cost of over a thousand casualties.  By the slimmest of margins, I Corps is able to restore its line and hold the Germans.  Not for the first nor the last time the Germans manage to achieve a breakthrough, only to have it closed before it can be exploited.

- To the south of the main fighting at Ypres today the period of the heaviest fighting has come to an end, as the German 6th Army is no longer attempting to break through the British line between Armentières and La Bassée; daily skirmishes continue, however, mainly comprised of spoiling attacks by the Germans to keep the British opposite from redeploying northward.  Since coming into the line, the British III Corps has suffered 5779 casualties, while II Corps was down to 14 000 infantry after arriving in Flanders with 24 000.  The withdrawal of II Corps from the line is also completed today, with its place taken by all of the Indian Corps.

- When the First World War broke out, Portugal remained neutral, but declared its 'support' for the Entente.  This awkward position arose out of Portugal's longstanding alliance with Britain that stretched back to the Middle Ages, but which did not require Portugal to actually go to war.  Moreover, the British had such little regard for the Portuguese military that they saw no advantage to be gained by Portugal actually participating in the war.  Thus Portugal stands in 1914 as unfriendly but not openly hostile to Germany.

The place of Portugal in the war has ramifications in Africa, considering the non-insubstantial Portuguese colonial empire, and in particular both Angola and Mozambique are adjacent to German colonies (German South West Africa and German West Africa respectively).  In September Portugal had dispatched 1500 soldiers to each to buttress their garrison against potential German aggression.  These forces would also aid in maintaining Portuguese rule over their colonies - parts of Angola in particular were in a state of near-perpetual revolt by the indigenous population.

To their German neighbours, however, these reinforcements could be interpreted as a prelude to a Portuguese invasion.  Moreover, since the fall of Togoland in August direct communications with Germany had been severed,  Thus the governor of German South West Africa is uncertain whether or not Germany and Portugal are at war.  Tensions were heightened on October 19th when a German patrol (according to the Portuguese) or mission (according to the Germans) was arrested at a Portuguese border fort, and in the ensuing scuffle three Germans were killed.  The event appears to confirm suspicions that the Portuguese are an active combatant, and the German governor decides to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the ongoing Boer Rebellion temporarily halting South African operations to the south to deal with the Portuguese to the north.

Today a German detachment approaches the Portuguese post at Cuangar, whose garrison is oblivious to the events of October 19th.  Taken by surprise, the Portuguese defenders are overwhelmed and massacred by the Germans.

- The commanders of Indian Expeditionary Force B and C meet today in Mombada with Kenyan and other British officials to finalize their plan for the invasion of German East Africa.  It is decided that IEF B will land at Tanga on November 2nd, while IEF C will attack across the border in the interior on the 3rd.  Crucially, the naval commander of the force escorting IEF B insists that given the prior agreement to neutralize Tanga and Dar es Salaam, it is necessary to inform the Germans that the British have abrogated the agreement before IEF B can land.

- The British light cruiser Glasgow continues to sit off Coronel today.  Despite the volume of intercepted German wireless traffic, no German warships have appeared, so the captain of Glasgow receives permission from Admiral Craddock to enter Coronel, which it does at dusk.  The ship's intelligence officer goes ashore to collect mail and messages from the British consul, who warns of a large German ethnic community, which means the presence of Glasgow in Coronel may have already been reported to the German East Asiatic Squadron.  In fact, one of the squadron's supply ships was in harbour when Glasgow arrived, and had reported its presence to Admiral Spee at 7pm.  An increase in the volume of German wireless traffic convinces the captain of Glasgow that German warships are approaching, so he decides to sail by 9am tomorrow morning.  Further, Admiral Craddock is bringing the rest of his squadron to Coronel to rendezvous with Glasgow - all of the German signals have had the call sign of the light cruiser Leipzig, and Craddock believes that it is operating in isolation from the rest of the German East Asiatic Squadron, providing an opportunity to sink it in isolation.

That all of the German wireless traffic has had the call signal of Leipzig, of course, is a deliberate ruse by Admiral Spee to mask the presence of his entire squadron off the Chilean coast.  When he learns of Glasgow's presence in Coronel, he decides to trap the British warship when it departs Coronel tomorrow; by law a warship that spends more than twenty-four hours in a neutral port is to be interned.  Thus the commanders of both squadrons believe that they are moving to engage a single warship of the other.

September 26th, 1914

- Though fighting continues south of Péronne, Rupprecht decides to use his II Bavarian Corps to outflank the French line from the north.  The Bavarians, having entrained at Metz on the 18th and marched from the railhead at Valenciennes, seize Bapaume today, but collide with the French XX Corps moving in the opposite direction, and heavy fighting ensues.

Falkenhayn has also ordered attacks to be undertaken along the Aisne River to pin the Entente armies there and prevent the further movement of units north.  Launched primarily by 7th Army, the attacks fail to make significant progress while suffering heavy casualties, especially in fighting with the British Expeditionary Force, and have no substantial impact on Joffre's redeployments.

- Winston Churchill today visits the headquarters of the British Expeditionary, and while there the First Lord of Admiralty discuss future operations with Sir John French.  Churchill assures the Field Marshal that should the BEF be redeployed to Flanders and Belgium, it would be supported by the Royal Navy via the Channel.  This assurance calms French's fears, and he now agrees that the BEF should be moved north.

- West of Verdun, the offensive of General Mudra's XVI Corps comes to a halt, having advanced approximately eight kilometres along a twenty kilometre stretch of the front over the past week.  The Germans have captured the main town of the region - Varennes-en-Argonne - and more importantly have seized the heights at Vauqois.  From this position artillery observers are able to keep watch on the Verdun to Paris railway line, and guns in the rear are now close enough to hit a portion of the tracks.  Once observers have pinpointed the coordinates, it becomes possible for German artillery to hit trains attempting to pass to Verdun.  This limits train movement to night, and only when the track has been repaired after prior bombardments.  This effectively severs the last rail line to Verdun - though it can be reached by road from Bar-le-Duc, it strains the supply situation at the most important French fortifications on the Western Front.

- The Lahore Division of Indian Expeditionary Force A arrive in Marseilles today, having sailed from India via the Arabian Sea and the Suez Canal.  IEF A also includes a second division - the Meerkut Division - and a cavalry brigade, which are scheduled to arrive in France in several weeks, their delay resulting from the presence of the German light cruisers Emden and Königsberg in the Indian Ocean.  Each division consists of three infantry brigades, which in turn contain one British and three Indian battalions.  These units are drawn from the peacetime Indian Army, and are being deployed to France to serve with the British Expeditionary Force.

Indian soldiers parade in Marseilles, September 26th, 1914.

- At Duala in German Kamerun, the small German garrison abandons the city and retreats inland.  They well understand that holding the port in the face of British naval power is impossible, but they do not intend to retreat far, in order to continue to pose a threat to the anticipated British occupation of Duala and force the British to continue to maintain a significant presence to hold it.

- Along the Orange River on the southern border of German South-West Africa, an advance guard of Force A has crossed the river at Sandfontein, consisting of three hundred men and two artillery pieces.  Though the South African government has learned that the main German force is not opposing the recent landing at Lüderitz but rather moving on the Orange River, but has not informed General Henry Lukin, commander of Force A.  Thus his advance guard is unsupported, and the Germans today sweep down and, having encircled the South Africans, capture the entire force after a brief firefight.

The defeat reflects the hasty improvisations necessary to put the three forces into the field at an early date, and the lack of adequate communications between them.  This is overshadowed, however, by Lukin's insistence that Force B ought to have advanced simultaneously, in order to divide the German defenders.  General Maritz of Force B insists that his force is still unready to move, being insufficiently trained.  Such disobedience does not reflect well on his loyalty to the South African government, despite the collapse on the 15th of the first acts of insubordination.  Defense Minister Smuts now faces the prospect of dealing with a recalcitrant general with a body of soldiers under his command.

- The German East Asiatic Squadron today arrives at the island of Nuku Hiva in the French Marquesas Islands.  With its lack of defenders and isolated position, Admiral Spee has his ships stop to coal and take on fresh provisions.

September 19th, 1914

- At Rheims the return of the French X Corps stabilizes the line - though the Germans remain in control of the high ground north and east of the city, the French hold the fort at La Pompelle to the southeast.  The hardening line leaves Rheims in French hands but easily within German artillery range.  At the centre of the city sits historic Rheims Cathedral, whose construction began in 1211 and for centuries had been the location where the kings of France were crowned.  The French today are using the cathedral to house German wounded, and its towers were draped in the flags of the Red Cross.  Nevertheless, the cathedral is targeted by German gunners along with the rest of the city - at 4pm, a shell strikes the northwest tower, setting fire to the wooden scaffolding that had been erected in peacetime as part of the cathedral's restoration.  The spreading fire melts the leaden roof, and molten lead ignites straw in the nave below, killing a dozen German prisoners.  The fire also spreads to the Archbishop's Palace, consuming irreplaceable Roman and Gothic tapestries.  Though the stone edifice of the cathedral remains, its interior is gutted, and medieval stain-glass windows are shattered.  The devastation of Rheims Cathedral receives worldwide attention, and is seen as yet another example of German barbarism and disdain for Western civilization.  The bombardment of the cathedral and the city will continue for years to come.

A German shell strikes Rheims Cathedral, Sept. 19th, 1914.

- West of Verdun, XVI Corps launches the first part of Falkenhayn's two-pronged offensive on the flanks of the town's fortified zone.  Attacking south into the heavily-forested Argonne, XVI Corps uses overwhelming artillery fire targeted precisely on the French trenches.  Most of the French defenders are killed or scattered, and the German infantry methodically advance into the abandoned positions.

- General Hausen of 3rd Army retires today on the grounds of ill-health, replaced by General der Kavallerie von Einem, formerly of VII Corps.

- Army Detachment Gaede is formed at the far southern end of the Western Front, in the Vosges near the Swiss border.  It consists of only three Landwehr brigades under the command of General Hans Gaede, and covers what a quiet sector on the front, as its hilly and wooded terrain makes it particularly unsuitable for offensive operations.

- The first South African attack in German South-West Africa occurs today when Force C lands at Lüderitz on the coast.  They encounter no resistance, as the Germans, fearing the guns of the Royal Navy, have abandoned the town and retreated inland.  However, with three aircraft they are able to monitor the movements of the South African force.

- David Lloyd George, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, addresses a packed crowd this evening at Queen's Hall, London.  He has long had a reputation as a dazzling speaker, and brings his full oratorical powers to bear to justify British participation in the war.  Britain, Lloyd George argues, was honour-bound to come to the aid of Belgium through the guarantee of independence the British government had given almost a century ago.  This view of honour is contrasted with the action of Germany:

She [Germany] says treaties only bind you when it is to your interest to keep them.  'What is a treaty?' says the German Chancellor.  'A scrap of paper.' . . . Have you any of those neat Treasury 1 pound notes?  If you have, burn them; they are only 'scraps of paper.'  What are they made of?  Rags.  What are they worth?  The whole credit of the British Empire.

We are fighting against barbarism.  But there is only one way of putting it right.  If there are nations that say they will only respect treaties when it is to their interest to do so, we must make it to their interest to do so for the future.

Britain is not fighting to preserve the balance of power or the integrity of the Empire, says Lloyd George, but rather on behalf of the underdog, a much more appealing basis:

That is the story of the little nations.  The world owes much to little nations - and to little men.  This theory of bigness - you must have a big empire, and a big man - well, long legs have their advantage in a retreat.  Frederick the Great chose his warriors for their height, and that tradition has become a policy in Germany.  Germany applies that ideal to nations; she will only allow six-feet-two nations to stand in the ranks.  But all the world owes much to the little five feet high nations.  The greatest art of the world was the work of little nations.  The most enduring literature of the world came from little nations.  The greatest literature of England came from her when she was a nation of the size of Belgium fighting a great Empire.  The heroic deeds that thrill humanity through generations were the deeds of little nations fighting for their freedom.  Ah, yes, and the salvation of mankind came through a little nation.  God has chosen little nations as the vessels by which he carries the choicest wines to the lips of humanity, to rejoice their hearts, to exalt their vision, to stimulate and to strengthen their faith; and if we had stood by when two little nations were being crushed and broken by the brutal hands of barbarism our shame would have rung down the everlasting ages.

Lloyd George concludes by emphasizing the transformative effect he sees the war having on British society:

May I tell you, in a simple parable, what I think this war is doing for us?  I know a valley in North Wales, between the mountains and the sea - a beautiful valley, snug, comfortable, sheltered by the mountains from all the bitter blasts.  It was very enervating, and I remember how the boys were in the habit of climbing the hills above the village to have a glimpse of the great mountains in the distance and to be stimulated and freshened by the breezes which came from the hilltops, and by the great spectacle of that great valley.

We have been living in a sheltered valley for generations.  We have been too comfortable, too indulgent, many, perhaps, too selfish.  And the stern hand of fate has scourged us to an elevation where we can see the great everlasting things that matter for a nation; the great peaks of honour we had forgotten - duty and patriotism, clad in glittering white; the great pinnacle of sacrifice pointing like a rugged finger to Heaven.  We shall descend into the valleys again, but as long as the men and women of this generation last they will carry in their hearts the image of these great mountain peaks, whose foundations are unshaken though Europe rock and sway in the convulsions of a great war.

August 21st, 1914

- The British Expeditionary Force is today marching northeast from Le Cateau and Maubeuge, with an objective of Soignes.  Field Marshall Sir John French does not expect serious fighting before the 24th, and believes the overall position of the BEF is favourable.  However, his force is about a days march behind the French 5th Army on his right, and is not yet in a position to support them.

- This morning Joffre orders 5th Army to cross the Sambre River and advance north and engage the German forces moving through Belgium, in concert with the British Expeditionary Force on his left.  His plan is to fix the German forces in Belgium so they cannot counter the French offensive in the Ardennes to the south.  When General Lanrezac of 5th Army informs Joffre that the BEF will not be in position to advance until the 23rd, Joffre orders 5th Army to attack by itself.

As this conversation is ongoing, however, the Germans are beginning both to upset the French plans and realize Lanrezac's worst fears.  The French 5th Army finds itself in the path of the 2nd and 3rd German armies - the former moving south towards the Sambre and the latter moving southwest against the Meuse.  In addition to attacking the demoralized Belgian garrison at Namur, where the Sambre and Meuse meet, advance elements of the German 2nd Army seize several bridges over the Sambre, pushing back French forces at the river's edge in the first action of what will come to be known as the Battle of Charleroi.  The seizure of the river crossings is relatively uncontested by 5th Army, Lanrezac believing that only small outposts have fallen, with most of the defenders of the Sambre entrenched on high ground south of the river.

- Joffre's primary focus is not on 5th Army today - to the south, the offensive by the French 3rd and 4th Armies begins as they advance into the Ardennes.  Between them the French armies have nine infantry and one cavalry corps, and expect to outnumber the Germans, believing significant forces have been pinned to the south by 1st and 2nd Armies while the Germans also appear to have committed heavily to the Belgian invasion.  They are disastrously misinformed, however.  Opposing the French in the Ardennes are the German 4th and 5th Armies, who form the pivot of the Schlieffen Plan, and include ten infantry corps plus reserve forces.  Unlike the three armies to the north, 4th and 5th Armies had less distance to travel, were moving more slowly, and had been entrenching as they advanced.

The advance begins in a thick fog which prevents any accurate reconnaissance by French cavalry.  Further, the French advance was poorly coordinated in the rough terrain of the Ardennes, with corps losing contact with their neighbours and gaps opening in the French lines.  Blundering through the woods and hills, lead elements of the French armies encounter their German counterparts, fighting a series of short, sharp preliminary engagements.  In these small fights, French officers are reluctant to order their soldiers to entrench as the Germans have, fearing that doing so will make them reluctant to attack.  It is clear that tomorrow the major clash will occur.  To the Minister of War, Joffre telegrams that 'the moment of decisive action is near.'  Joffre is correct, but not in the way he imagines.

Operations in the Ardennes, Aug. 21st to 26th, 1914.

- The Russian 1st Army remains stationary today, recovering from its victory of the day before.  In this rest, Colonel Max Hoffman, Deputy Chief of Operations of the German 8th Army, senses opportunity.  He had argued the night before that if 1st Army did not move for several days, 8th Army could use interior lines to redeploy against the Russian 2nd Army, which today is crossing the German border southwest of the Masurian Lakes.  When aerial reconnaissance confirms the lack of activity by the Russians at Gumbinnen, Hoffman convinces his superior to execute his plan.  I Corps, with the longest to go to reach the Russian 2nd Army, is to move by train to the western flank of XX Corps, the only unit currently in the south.  8th Army's other two corps - XVII Corps and I Reserve Corps - are to disengage from the Russian 1st Army and march to the eastern flank of XX Corps.  In doing so, the units of 8th Army were aided by their familiarity with East Prussia - I and XVII Corps had previously executed these precise movements during manoeuvres in 1910.  Hoffman's plan leaves open the ability to face the Russian 1st Army again should it advance in the next couple of days - as I and XVII Corps are to march on foot, they can reverse course if necessary - but allows for a revival of the original war plan of 8th Army; namely, the defeat of invading Russian armies in detail.

Simultaneously, officers of Moltke's staff at Colblenz have been in touch with 8th Army's corps commanders, who have painted a more optimistic picture of the situation than Prittwitz's report of the previous day.  With Moltke once again paralyzed by indecision - it never occurred to him that when he received Prittwitz's report, he could simply overrule his subordinate and order 8th Army to stand its ground - it is the officers of the operations staff who conclude that Prittwitz and his chief of staff must go.  For the latter post, they desired someone who had already proven himself in action, and had the imagination and temperament essential to deal with the fluid situation in East Prussia.  They select General Erich Ludendorff, whose star is in the ascent after his success at Liège.  He is currently overseeing 2nd Army's attack on the Belgian forts at Namur, so an officer is dispatched by car to summon him to OHL headquarters.

- The offensive of the Austro-Hungarian 6th Army, which General Potiorek had intended to be the main axis of advance, has achieved local successes along the Drina.  However, the prior defeat of the 5th Army to the north allows General Putnik to concentrate most of the Serbian army against the Austro-Hungarian 6th Army, and under pressure 6th Army is forced to fall back.

- Minister of Defence Jan Christian Smuts finalizes today his plan for the South African campaign against German South-West Africa.  South African forces would be divided in three: Force A at Port Nolloth and Force B at Upington would advance north across the border, while Force C will land at Lüderitz on the coast and advance inland.  Total strength of the three forces will be five thousand men and fourteen guns.

German South-West Africa